Vigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!

Pages

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Acts 10:21-23

Peter
does listen to the Holy Spirit this time, and he goes down to meet them. Notice that he boldly introduces himself,
initiating the interaction. One of the
envoys responds to Peter by introducing Cornelius as a Centurion who is
God-fearing and well spoken about among the Jews. The envoy also explains that Cornelius was
directed by an angel to find Peter and bring him to Caesarea. Peter invites the envoy from Cornelius into
the house. The next day, Peter leaves Joppa
and heads for Caesarea to meet Cornelius.
Some of the folks from Joppa even go with Peter.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Peter
goes down and takes charge. Here we can
see a really great contrast to the whole “kill and eat” scene. When Peter was outside of his comfort zone – even
when the Lord was speaking to him directly and giving him a vision, Peter was
hesitant. But when the Holy Spirit asks
him to do something within our comfort zone, Peter is right there on cue and
does it with boldness. This teaches us
two things.

First, we should always be interested in following the Lord, but we should also recognize that even with that attitude the stuff outside of our comfort zone will take a little warming up before we act.

However, the stuff inside our comfort zone we need to get to it and do it. We don’t need to dance around it and take our time with it. We just need to do it.

Does
this ability to sort out God’s call into “inside the comfort zone” and “outside
the comfort zone” help any? Remember
that we need to follow always, but we should also be following with a mind of
accomplishing the easy and comfortable stuff now.

Second Thought:

The
envoy takes Peter’s boldness and replies in like kind. The envoy is likely empowered by Peter’s
being upfront with him. The envoy tells
Peter everything about Cornelius – and he does it in a particular way.

First,
the envoy tells the scary part: Roman soldier.

Second,
the envoy the great part: upright God-fearer.

Third,
the envoy tells the “religious” part: well-spoken about among Jews.

Why
do you think the order is important?
What advantages might there be in saying the first and last parts in the
order they’re in? What advantage might
there be in burying the middle two parts into the middle of the list? Does any of your answers have to do with
picturing ourselves in a way that is best able to resist the self-monger
within?

Third Thought:

After
the exchange, Peter invites the envoys into the house. They have been traveling, so Peter knows they
need a bit of time to be refreshed.
Peter also no doubt wants to give them a chance to talk about Cornelius
at greater depth. It obviously works, because
the next day Peter and a few folks from Joppa head out with him to see
Cornelius. Notice that these people go
with Peter – although Peter is certainly a big enough boy to handle it all on
his own. There is nothing more important
than doing the work of the Lord.

Do
you think you would be willing to pick up and leave what you have behind to do
the work of the Lord – even if temporarily?
How hospitable are you when it comes to inviting spiritual people into
your midst and interacting with them (as Peter does)?